The Benefits of Juicing for Weight Loss
Putting fresh fruits and vegetables through a juicer results in a densely colored, nutritionally rich liquid that gives you a wealth of health benefits. While juicing has gained attention as a way to lose weight, the truth is that including juicing in your weight loss effort does not guarantee success. However, juicing can be a healthful part of your diet and your life.
Positive Nutritional Benefits
Juicing is a quick way to get a wide variety of valuable vitamins and minerals with very few calories. It can be challenging to eat enough servings of fruits and vegetables each day and juicing eliminates that barrier. When you juice fruits and vegetables you get a majority of the natural enzymes, vitamins, and minerals that the foods contain. The juice you drink can give your immune system a boost and provide you with energy.
Positive Weight Loss Benefits
No studies prove conclusively that juicing positively affects weight loss; however there are studies that show that people who consume more fruits and vegetables tend to weigh less than people who consume less. Juicing makes an excellent companion to almost any weight loss program because of the relatively low calories in the juice, particularly if you focus on juicing vegetables rather than fruit. A cup of spinach, carrot, and apple juice has less than 50 calories and makes an excellent drink to add to a healthy breakfast or as an accompaniment to a mid-afternoon snack.
Lack of Fiber
A downside of juicing is that most of the natural dietary fiber found in many fruits and vegetables does not come through the juicer. For example, a cup of carrot juice has just 1.9 g of fiber, while five whole carrots contain 10.1 g. If you juice your fruits and vegetables rather than consume them whole, make certain you are getting enough fiber from other sources such as whole grains. A lack of fiber can cause digestive slowness and may contribute to increasing your risk of developing both high blood pressure and certain cardiovascular diseases.
Dangers of Exclusivity
It is fine for you to juice vegetables and fruits every day, but you do not want to have the resulting juice be the mainstay of your diet. Drinking juice exclusively in a vain attempt to lose weight quickly could lead to health problems over the long term because you are not getting adequate amounts of fat, protein, and other vital nutrients.
Use your juicer wisely and you can reap the benefits of drinking fresh, natural juice. Experiment with a variety of fruits and vegetables and try different combinations. Beets, celery, spinach, and tomatoes make a great morning juice and the sweetness of grapefruit and oranges together helps satisfy your sweet tooth in the afternoon. If you are not certain if you would use a juicer enough to justify the expense, ask a friend if you can borrow hers for a few days before investing in a machine of your own.